Bah Bah Gordon, have ye any wool?

By: Matt | January 16th, 2009

Hopefully the answer to that question this Sunday will be “Yes sir, Yes sir, three points full.” Token sheep references aside (surely not to be the last of the blog), Gordon Strachan returns to the place of his Scottish glories as Celtic travel up north this Sunday to take on Aberdeen. Celtic are unbeaten in their last 7 trips to Pittodrie, and Aberdeen have not been a club that has fared well at home this season. However, the Sheep come into the match on a good run, winning five of their last six matches and only conceding four goals in that time. Despite Celtic’s recent successes up north, this tie has all the makings of a ball buster for Celtic. Traveling up north to face a team who are on a relatively good run and who relish the chance to stick it to any of the Glasgow teams. Of course, there is the debate about who exactly hates Rangers more, a debate the Green Brigade and the Red Ultras are sure to engage in.

Then we come to the matter of Jimmy Calderwood, who much to the disdain of both fan bases in the match Sunday, is a stinking Hun. In last year’s title deciding last day, when Aberdeen’s name was matched up against Rangers, there was some worry that old James would take it easy on his preferred SPL side, worries not helped by Calderwood’s comments leading up to the game. As we all know, Timmy at heart Zander Diamond and Co. were able to defeat Rangers, along with Celtic beating Dundee United to take home the title. It was nice to get one over not only on Rangers, but on Calderwood as well, and hopefully the same thing will happen Sunday.

In terms of the squad news, Mark Wilson will miss the match for Celtic and another three weeks after having an operation on his pelvis. Lee Naylor is also questionable for the match, but there will at least be one fullback available as Andreas Hinkel has recovered from his rib injury and should be good to go. Who will play the opposite fullback is still a mystery however. Of course, talk of any starting Celtic XI is sure to include the question of Aiden McGeady. McGeady got the start last week against Dundee in the cup. Aiden played well and had a goal to boot. Most would think that this would secure his spot back in the first XI, but with Gordon Strachan, you never know. I expect a tough match, with Aberdeen wanting to be physical with Celtic. I expect a Celtic goal late in the first half and then Aberdeen to pressure the second half, only to lose another goal in the 80th minute from a Celtic counter and a 2-0, nervy Celtic win.

(Picture courtesy of KevinG from TheLordOfTheWing Blog)

TAL